Seam-dampener.



PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

A. M. TORRNGE. SRAM DAMPENER.

APPLIUATION FILED APR.15. 1903.

uw N. En

ALBERT M. TORRANCE, OF BENNINGTQN, VERMONT.

SEAM-DAMPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 10,1907.

Application filed pril 15,1903. Serial No. 152,668.

i To alf whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALT'ER'r M. TOERANCE, of the village oi Bennington, in the county of Bennington and State ofl Vermont, have invented lcertain Improvements in Seam-Dampeners Used in the Manufacture'oi Collars, o whichithe subjoined description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, constitute a speciiication.

In manufacturing folding collars as an article oi wearing apparel, in joining the top to the band by stitching in the well known manner, a seam is produced of several thicknesses, many more in fact than exist in either the top or the band. In finishing the collar the usual practice has been to starch the collar and then iron it out flat, after which a narrow strip just above and close to the upper edge of the seam is moistened with water which seitens 'the starch sufficiently to permit the top to be bent down over the upper edge of the seam in,

which folded condition it is finished and dried. Various means have been devised to do this seam dampening so that it will be truly done, or uniformly distant from the edge of the seam, and without getting the seam too wet or leaving it too dry. And it has been found difficult to devise automatic machines for doing this efectually, accurately and rapidly. One oi the greatest difficulties hitherto has been to guide the collar through the machine so that the dampened streak would exactly follow the liney of the proposed fold when the top was turned over and finished. Where the hand and eye are more or less relied on t( do this accurately', the operation of the machine is necessarily much retarded.

To overcome these obstacles to accurate and rapid work is the object in part oi this invention. This has been accomplished by the construction and adaptation of a spring presser foot to a guide shoe .and mounting both these coperative members upon an adjustable member so that the guide may be set to work on either side of the wetting bands, thereby furnishing facilities ior running the collars through themachine with either end in the lead.

In some existing machines a movable guido shoe has been used without a presser foot which could be pinchedl onto the iront edge oi' the table oi the machine and adjusted by rulc o thumb to its working position and a finger of the operator used to hold the seam of the Collar to its place in thc shoe while the collar passed under Ihc wetting band, but this shoe has been only manually and not mechanically adjustable.

My invention is fully illustrated in the drawings wherein Figure l, shows a iront elevation of my invention with some parts shown in vertical section to disclose hiddcn paris. Fig. 2 isa righthand end elevation of the same, and ljrig. 3 is a plan view thereof with the top arm removed to let into viewthe upper shaft and guide shoe. Fig, 4 shows perspectives of coperative faces of the shoe and presser foot. Fig. 5 is a cross-section oi a collar seam vin position between shoe and presser foot. Fig. 6 is a detail view showing a modification of a presser foot having a flat bearing face.

My apparatus is mounted in a suitable frame preferably a standard l having a base 2, table 3 and an overhanging arm 4 to support the upper water trough and for other purposes. In this frame is journaled the main driving shaft 5 which carries a driving pulley 6 at one end and a band sheave 7 at the free end. It also carries a gear 8 between its bearings which meshes with gear 9 on the upper shaft 10. This shaft is carried in a trunnion box .ll pivoted in the main standard .and Sliding box l2 which is l'ree to move vertically a short distance in its bearing in standard 13. Over box 12 is a spring 14 and follower l5 which are controlled# by a thumb screw 16 whereby the belt carried by. sheave 17 which is carried on`the free end of shaft l0 can be set up against the belt or band carried on sheave 7.

On the end of the arm 4 is carried a water trough 18 which is adapted to be adjusted vertically by the screw 19 beneath it. This trough can slide vertically between the uprights 20, 20, of arm 4. On it the sheaves 2l, and 22, 22, are-mounted so that the middle sol sheave 2l can dip into water carried in the trough. A

wetting band 23 passes over all -thcse sheaves and under the sheave ,17 and in operation this band is kept saturated to the desired extent by the she-ave 21 which takes up in its groove sufiicient water from the water in the trough into which it dips, to meisten the band as it runs over it. If this should be insufficient the band may be shifted from the upper to the under side of thc sheave 21 so that it will itself dip into the water in the trough. The tension of this band can be adjusted by raising or loweringl the trough by means of the set screw 19. Any slack in band 23 occasioned by the irregular springing upwards of sheave 17 will be taken up by spring 40 under trough 18. A similar trough 24 is located beneath the table on the base loi thc machine which moves horizontally in slideways 26, 26, and can be adjusted by the sot screw 27. This trough is so arranged that a horizontal movement of it will change the tension on the band. A wetting band 28 is providcd which runs over thc shcave 7 on thc main shaft, under thc sheaves 29, 29, of trough 24 and over the central sheave 30. This band is kept moistened from the water taken up by sheave 30 or if this is insuflicient the band can be adjusted to run undcr the shcavc through the water in thesame way as is provided for the upper band, Both troughs are supplied with water in any convenient way/from any suitable source. A portion of the table around tho sheaves 7 and 17 is cnt away to permit the two bands to meet at or near the level of the table.

Beneath thc table is a horizontal slide 3l, which can be moved in clips 32, 32, by means o :in adjusting 'screw 33 at the right of' the table which takes into a` screw-threaded aperture in the end of the slide. ittachcd to this slide is the guide shoe 34 the upper side of which stands a little abovc the point ol contact of the two bands. At the left hand end of the 'slide is attached an arm 35, which is bent upwardly, passing through a slot in the table, and its free end extends out over the guide shoe and has attached to it the presser foot This foot is adapted to loperate di re'ctly overthe shoe by pressing against thc upper side of the shoe anything passing between them. The arm 35 is made sufficiently slender and of such material as will act asa spring which exertsits force to urge the presser foot against the shoe. The under side oi' the foot is creased so as to present parallel V-shaped ridges to the material passing under it. The guide shoe also has similar raised ridges r, 1', which cooperate with the ridges on the presser foot. The ridges r, r; of the= shoe are ared in front as shown in Fig. fiy to facilitate the j ready entrance of the end of. the seam between the toot and shoc, and'if it'happens that the end of a seam is not accurately 'entered these flaring ribs will gradually guide or force the seam around into a cor.'

rect p'ositionf .An uncreased presser foot shown in Fig. 6 will work well on many kinds of collars, hencey joined, and in the process of finishing the bulk of thel thickness of this seam appears 'on the inside oi the collar. @The edges' of Vthis seam arevery prominent and present well'defined edges, so that these edges or boundaries of the seam afford the means for guidingthe collar through `between the shoe and the presser foot. The space or concavity in-the.shoe between the ridges r,1'r, is gaged to receive the protuberant edges of the seam, and the" shoe is long enough to cause this seam to drop in between the ridges which thus point the leading end of the collar in its true 'direction be'-l tween'the wetting hands, while the similar ridges on the bottom of the presser foot assist inthe same way and act to prevent the collar from sluing around in its passage. This characteristic is well shown in Fig. 5

in which the collar is shown in cross-section insolid black lines.

The machine is adjusted and operated as follows:- Wet'ting bands of appropriate sizes are selected and adjusted in working position on the sheaves. Ordinarily, a'finer band is used to wet lthe face of the searn:

than the' back, and thiswohld go on ltheupper set of sheaves. 'The water supply is thcnregiilated and the proper amount is graduated for both troughs. The

`pressure between lthe two bands at their point of con tact'between sheaves 7 and l7 is adjusted by means of the pressure screw 1G.v This is so adjusted that the upper shaft will yield to the passage of an extra thick' ness in a seaiii-as for instance, at each endv of the seam operation. The collars are th'eiii'iedlv i through between the shoe arid""pr"` attendant as' fast as they cui being easily able to pass minute as it is` only necessary to-ju' the seam so that it can be'seized between thebands which will then draw it' through withouthirther attenl A' tion, the formation of the opposing laces of the presser foot and shoe acting together to conduct the collar iny f the proper direction.' i I therefore claim as my invention end des ireto se i l cure by Letters Patent, the fell wi i i i 1. Iii a seanrdunipenei' ot' combination with the wcftih consisting of :i shoe having"upsinlin, "iiidiiigy i'idgesfiii presser foot which coperaties therewith vlnrving. upstanilf` ing ridges, :ind means connected. members for imparting' f o it `staiilixilly as specified.

'.Z.V ln a seam driinpenei'y ol' the'"cliiii'ri'ctei"llesciiibedytle'lA combination with a shoe and ufpresserrfoot, botlrattachcdl" lo an adjustable member, oi in caiis,connected nithpthcw.

latter for adjusting it laterally \'ith re f` e nce to ili e wetting' devices` at the dampeiiiiigl point, substantially a's 95 specified.,

. Il gisting of two cooperativemembers, theopposiin.: opcrative faces of which have parallel ridges against which the scam contacts in passing between them, means for main- 1 laining pressure therebetween, and'n'ieansfor"propelling the colhir between them,'suhslantiall `Jasjspecifiedf'ui". f

4. lho combination in assi' wtfagnqiier tromrh.v :i plurality of band .shi`

above said trough, a wetting band the relative arrangement of thereby carry w:

over iisftop, and an actual band runs located at the da'nipeiiixi point,

as specified..

5.` The combination in a` senin dampeneiof .two/wetting bands mounted to run oveiyiwovscismfisheavesiii conne A collar seaiii guide for irse in seani danipe'ners con tion with a water supply for, nioisiening each biiiid. said,

bands being.;` adapted to contact with euch other between two adjacent sheaves each of whichlbelong's to its corr'espending set, witira collar guide `consistingy of aguide shoe having longitudinal ridges between which the seam 7. The combination with` thegupper. s hftiand `shenve, ma..` upper wetting bund und upper' ti'oughyalnd lsheaves, carried thereon, of a'stntlonary support'for said trough and mean yinterposed .between the support and trough for `talringmup slack; in The wettingibund occusloned'byy the lifting 'of the lupper'sli nft' aiid sheave 4due to irregularitiesp:ms1n.;"be-` tieveegi ie\vtting-bands, substantially as specified.

v iArgi'ilde foi'.` scum dumpeuers, consistlng of an vupper 135 and un under member, one of which is provided with means \foi' dii'ectlng'the fabric passing lbetween themto the dampening devices, a niovable device to which both members are attached, and means for adjusting said device laterally specified.

S). A guide for seam dampeners, consisting of un upper und :in under member, one of which is provided with means afor direct-ing the fabric passing between them to the dnmpening devices, in combination with means for adjusting said guide hterally with reference to the dampening devices, substantially as specified.

10. In a moistening machine, the combination of the', moistenin,r devices, means for mounting and operating the sume, two guides juxtaposed to the moistening devices, for the purpose specified, and a yielding presser fooi: lying over the guides ldnd cooperating therewith. l

11. In n moistening machine, the combination of the moistening devices, means for mounting and operating the same, n tang, a spring-actuated presser foot carriedtthereby, and two guide members mounted on the tang anti .c0- acting with the presser footi4 12. In :i collar dampening machine and in comhinntion,

means for supplying moisture 'to a collar, andv in advance thereof a grooved collar ',guide, and n pressercqperativ with said guide. l

.In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my nume at Bennington, Vermont, this th day of April, A.' D., 1903.

ALBERT M. 'remi/mon. Witnesses: I

GEO. F. HoUGH'roN,

' FRANKLXN SCOTT. 

